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Reviews
Jersey Justice (2014)
Low budget thriller has the right feel.
This is the new cut of "Jersey Justice", I didn't see the old cut so I have a fresh take on this movie. I was given a preview and asked to give my opinion, and here it is. "Jersey Justice" is a revenge thriller that is just what it is, a good addition to the low budget indie market. A Christian mother from the suburbs is thrust into a storm of murder and deceit soon after her son is sent off to work as a contractor in Iraq and her husband is murdered in a random mob killing. In a sunny day in Philly, she sets off to kill the monsters who ruined her life. John Hunt's movie is a send-up of 70's style revenge movies, complete with sly in-jokes about movies like Born Losers, Billy Jack, Death Wish, Dirty Harry and most of the killings are straight out of the Godfather. A ride over the bridge into South Jersey takes a funny turn when our lady avenger meets a lesbian and a vet with a trunk of guns to finish the job. Flaws are few, because of some sub-par actors and pedestrian direction by first time film maker Hunt and crew. But the lead acting is very polished, and some great character roles make it worth the time. Blanche Baker (Hypothermia, Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door)is perfect and very convincing in the lead. A sly comic flair in her performance. Christopher Mann and Jerry Lyden make a great pair of cops on the trail, and 70's icon Bo Svenson shows up for a good role as a shifty oil exec. Best is Ed McCool and the comic relief, a gun nut with a need to kill somebody. Fine writing is a huge plus, and Baker has found a new calling as a genre actress. B-Minus is still a good grade these days.
Deer Crossing (2012)
Brutal Movie.... but well done crime and mayhem.
Some of "Deer Crossing" will put off a lot of people, mostly women. The good news is that this movie goes pretty far on the exploitation scale to please hardcore fans of low budget crime/horror fans. It's like a Jack Ketchum story line, mixed with classic moments of pathos with rich characters that will not be forgotten.
"Bad Day at Black Rock" and "In the Heat of the Night" are inspired and classic movies that are reworked into something new and frightening. A mother and young boy get lost on the way to grandmothers house. An accident brings them captive by a real monster, Lukas Walton. A farmer with a perverse habit of collecting women for his psycho-sexual pleasure. After years of torture, and raising the young boy as his own, a retired lawman comes to sleepy Carvin County for closure to this lost case. A former cop that does not fit in (yes, he is black and Carvin County is a hotbed of racist white folk). The local sheriff has his hands full with the local thugs and bikers that rule this nightmare town. A drug addict sheriff is a puppet to a lady pimp and her lunatic henchman. But Luke Walton is connected somewhere in the mix, with an interloper snooping around his homestead. Christian Jude Grillo lays it all out on the screen. No holds barred! That's his style, and his first film "Booley" was a prime example of his mindset. It's off the charts with the brutality.
The jewel in the Cracker Jack prize bag is K.J.Linhein as our real life monster, Luke Walton. A asset to making a great movie is it's villain, and Grillo found a great actor here. Filling in the main role of troubled hero is Christopher Mann (Booley alum) as the cop. Excellent support from "Hellraiser" star Doug Bradley as the corrupt lawman in the way. Tom Detrik (Booley's titular star) brings a fine turn as Dick (one-eyed loony with a long knife) and guest star Ernie Hudson in an extended cameo.
The movie is not perfect.... and some performances are miscast, but it does not hurt the movie. Down and Dirty, for it's worth. Grungy scenes will make you squirm.